Godzilla: Hidden Legends
by Kaiju Alpha
Summary: Years after a devastating war between humans and gargantuan beasts called Kaiju, a desperate expedition to uncover the key to restoring coexistence between human and monster turns into a battle to ensure the world lives to see another day. (A redo of a previous story.)
1. Prologue

Prologue

_It all began in 1954, almost ten years after the last world war left scars on the nations who fought in it and humanity continuing its pursuit in creating new and more dangerous weapons to kill themselves and feed their bloodlust. However, such pursuits led to the awakening of something that would kickstart a different kind of war; one between men and monsters. The first of these monsters, which the world dubbed "Kaiju", appeared on Odo Island before making his way toward Tokyo, Japan. On November 3__rd__ of that year, the monster managed to burn the city to the ground in a matter of hours. The Kaiju would go on in infamy under the name... Godzilla. _

_ A day after Godzilla laid siege to Tokyo, a brave man named Daisuke Serizawa gave his life to ensure the Kaiju would never plague humanity again by using a weapon more devastating than the Hydrogen Bomb, the weapon that awoke Godzilla in the first place. Fearing his weapon would fall into the wrong hands, Serizawa took his secrets to the grave so the world would live and breathe again. Or so they thought. For one year later, Godzilla came back, and he did not come alone. _

_ As the years went by, more and more Kaiju would awaken and wage war on humankind. Some rose from the darkest reaches of the sea, others from deep beneath the earth, and a few came from the stars. There were even Kaiju created by humanity in hopes they would be weapons used in the ongoing war between humans and monsters. Some Kaiju, creatures believed to be the stuff of myths and legends, stood and fought beside humanity, but even they weren't enough. Over time, countless cities were destroyed and millions of lives were lost. It all culminated on the day signifying Godzilla's first assault on humanity when, in a show of arrogance, humanity believed Godzilla to have perished in the war and built a monument in the center of the first city to burn before his wrath, only for the King of the Monsters to awaken and leave not one building standing. _

_ However, when the war finally neared its peak, something astounding happened; the attacks just stopped. The Kaiju, seemingly having their fill of destruction for almost a thousand years, fell into a state of slumber. It seemed as though the fighting was over, that humanity could pick up the pieces at last and rebuild what had been destroyed. Unfortunately, humanity knew this peace would not last and new Kaiju that hadn't been seen during the war had been discovered in dormancy. _

_ This new generation must remain vigilant and aware. For, at any time, the Kaiju would reawaken and begin a new war, one possibly more dangerous than the last. It is not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And worst of all, time may already be running out. _


	2. An Unusual Find

An Unusual Find

**Beneath Komaru Castle**

_Clink. Scrape. Clink. Scrape. Clink. Scrape. _

These were the sounds Dr. Asuka Serizawa had grown used to in the past week as her excavation team went to work exploring the caverns twenty seven miles beneath what used to be a castle belonging to Oda Nobunaga's most trusted generals. With the Kaiju currently in hibernation, the last living relative of Dr. Daisuke Serizawa was given the chance to explore what the world was like before humanity crossed paths with the likes of Godzilla, one of her more well-known discoveries being the confirmation of the Hollow Earth Theory proposed by Edmond Halley after uncovering tunnels filled with hieroglyphics depicting ancient humans and Kaiju. Since then, there had been countless other discoveries such as a temple in the Yunnan Rain Forests in China dedicated to Mothra as well as cave-paintings in Isla De Mara depicting humans bowing before Rodan Prime as though in respect. There was even a scroll dated all the way back to the Muromachi Period of Godzilla and samurai fighting the Mongols side-by-side that had been found in a temple on Odo Island, the area where the King of the Monsters revealed himself to the world back in 1954. What other secrets were waiting to be found?

"Dr. Serizawa," called out Jin Kino from deep within the cavern. "There's something you might want to see!"

Asuka adjusted her black glasses and headed down to her colleague, currently standing outside an open catacomb, his green eyes illuminated by the light goggles on his face.

"What have you got, Jin?" Asuka asked.

The young man cleared his throat, before speaking. "Well, I think it's better you look for yourself, ma'am." He then proceeded to hand her a pair of light goggles that had been specifically customized with her poor vision in mind.

Asuka strode into the cavern after placing the goggles onto her head, undoing the small bun of graying, black hair in the process, the blue-tinted light from her goggles' visors illuminating her path. What lay before her was a massive collection of strange markings that seemed to be a mixture of Japanese _kanji_, Chinese _han_, Korean _hangul_, and even Babylonian cunieform.

_ Well,_ Asuka thought to herself, _this blows the previous discoveries out of the water_.

"Have Shinjo get to work on translating this as soon as possible," Asuka told Jin.

"I will, ma'am," Jin replied. "But, there's something else you might want to look at. Something a bit more... ummm... well, you'll have to come with me to find out."

Asuka followed Jin further into the cavern and nearly caught her breath at the sight before her. In front of her appeared to be fossilized remains of... something. What's more, it was a complete skeleton embedded in the rock. The creature, or the remains of it, was massive; approximately thirty feet in height and seventy-five in length. It had four legs, each tipped with five claws resembling human hands crossed with crocodiles. The skull of the remains looked very reptilian but with features never seen on any other species of reptile before such as long, sabertooth-like fangs on the upper jaw and molars way in the back of the jaws as well as a crown of horns.

_What is this anyway?_ Asuka asked mentally. _A new species of dinosaur? The skeleton of an unknown Kaiju infant? _

It was there she noticed one of the most defining feature about it; namely the bat-like wings protruding from its shoulders. She was looking at a dragon. A literal, honest to god, no doubt about it, _dragon_. And not a dragon _Kaiju_ like Manda or the deceased DesGhidorah, Monster X, or that _thing_ in Outpost 2864, but an actual dragon. The kinds that had been featured in fairy tales, myths, fantasy novels, and more. What other secrets did the Hollow Earth hold for humanity? They couldn't wait any longer. Asuka had to get her superiors to look into this. She had to make an expedition through one of the Hollow Earth tunnels before the Kaiju woke up. Before _Godzilla_ woke up.


	3. The Slumbering King

The Sleeping King

**Outpost 1954**

**Marianas Trench**

The Marianas Trench is the deepest region on the planet. At a whopping depth of more than ten thousand meters, no light can reach it and its pressure is so high, any organism not wearing protection or adapted to life in such hostile environments would instantly be crushed like a tin can. Organisms like the Kaiju however, are a much different story.

Haru Kondo had just recently arrived at Outpost 1954, having traveled there via submarine with a mug filled with scalding hot, midnight-black coffee, just the way he liked it. Upon entering the main control room, he was greeted with the sight of several large monitors and people overlooking them. Each monitor displayed statistics on the Kaiju this outpost was entrusted in keeping close tabs on. The only downside? The Kaiju in question was _Godzilla_.

"What's the status on his 'Majesty'?" Kondo asked, taking a sip of his bitter, liquid pick-me-up while looking out through the observatory windows, taking note of the only light source; the cold blue glow emanating from the maple leaf-shaped dorsal fins on the King of the Monsters.

"The same as he's been doing for the past nine years, sir," replied Haru Mitsushi, one of the younger staff members on Outpost 1954. "Hibernating and feeding on geo-thermal radiation."

Kondo nodded before looking out to the slumbering, hunched over body of Godzilla as flashes of iridescent, dull blue light, still astonished that, despite the Kaiju's carnivorous nature, he was able to feed on sources of radiation. At first it was believed he could only absorb and metabolize nuclear radiation, however, when they first built the outpost after the end of the Kaiju War, they discovered Godzila could feed off any source of radiation.

In a way, the sight of the slumbering Kaiju had a sinister sense of beauty to it. On the one hand, the way Godzilla was hunched over reminded Kondo of a monk in meditation whilst the glow from the jagged dorsal plates served as the only thing remotely close to natural light (or at least light coming from a natural source). On the other hand, it was still Godzilla, the same Kaiju who had the record of most battles with humans as well as the highest casualty count not to mention the highest number of cities left destroyed in his wake, one of them being Old Tokyo... _twice_. Not to mention he had the biggest grudge toward humankind than any of the Kaiju ever recorded and, according to various hypotheses, served as a catalyst to awaken any Kaiju around the world and probably served as one following his initial attack in 1954 thus earning him the highest degree of observation if he woke up _first_. So, there was that. The best hope, probably the _only_ hope Kondo shared with humanity was that Godzilla would stay content in the dark depths of the Marianas Trench, soaking up the radiation from the Earth's core. But even then, that would be a fleeting hope all the same. Godzilla's reawakening would be inevitable. It was the duty of Outpost 1954, in fact the duty of every Outpost housing a slumbering Kaiju to stay vigilant and alert the public the moment the monsters so much as curled a finger as a sign the Kaiju War was about to reignite.

"What are his current vital signs?" Kondo asked.

"Stable and consistent," replied another Outpost 1954 worker named Kiyo Jinshi, "no changes since 2945, Dr. Kondo."

"Maintain constant surveillance and keep me posted the moment and changes emerge."

"Yes, doctor."

Kondo fastened his gaze upon the sleeping form of Godzilla and took another sip of his coffee.

_I'm not going to pretend you won't wake up_, he thought, _I just hope it won't be this generation. _


	4. A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal

**Tomoyuki Base, New Tokyo**

"Hey, Koji," Tsubaki Murakami called to her brother who was sitting a foot from her as she was working on one of the power suits. "Pass me that crescent wrench."

Koji Murakami looked up from the schematics of G.R.I.D.'s new VTOL fighters he was looking at and passed his sister what he believed was the wrench in question. The moment he did, however, his sister let out a sigh.

"Koji, I asked for a _crescent _wrench," she told him in a deadpan. "This, is a combination wrench. Not only that, it's the wrong size anyway."

Koji rolled his eyes at his twin, "What's the difference?"

Tsubaki groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, adding another splotch of grease to her already greased up face. "Crescent wrenches are adjustable. Combination wrenches _aren't_."

As if to prove her point, she jumped down from her platform, picked up the wrench she wanted, the combination wrench still in her right hand, and put them in front of her brother so he could get a good enough idea of what she was talking about.

"This," Tsubaki started, pointing up the crescent wrench in her left hand as she did so, "is a crescent wrench. Please note the fastener that moves the jaw." She even went so far as to demonstrate this to her brother. She then slightly raised the combination wrench. "While, _this_, is a combination wrench. Note the _lack_ of a fastener."

_And there she goes_. Koji thought, mentally rolling his eyes.

"So, just as a recap," Tsubaki continued. "Crescent wrench and _combination _wrench. They. Are. Not. The. Same."

Koji groaned, "Ya done yet?"

Tsubaki placed both wrenches on the tool table next to her and sighed, "Look, Koji, I get that you could seriously care less about what I do, but could you at least _try_ to help out from time to time? You know, besides looking at schematics of the latest fighter jets which we _all _know you're not gonna so much as touch with a ninety-nine foot pole?"

Koji shrugged, "I just like looking at their mechanics. Just because I'm not gonna _fly_ one of them doesn't mean I can't _admire _them. I mean I _would _fly them if Dad hadn't traumatized me."

It was now Tsubaki's turn to roll her eyes. In fact, there was once a point in time when Koji was in love with the idea of flying. Just the thought of spitting in the face of gravity in style. One day when Koji was ten years old, their father, an airforce pilot, took him to get a hands on experience on what it was like to fly in a jet fighter, more specifically, the new (at the time) F-57 Hivemind. At first it started out relatively okay, it was a little too fast for his liking, but he got used to it. Then, his father began pulling off air stunts and things immediately turned south. The moment the F-57 went into a barrel-roll, Koji could remember screaming so loudly. However, his father thought he was screaming with excitement he proceeded to continue. Only when Koji started begging to stop did Eijiro realize his son was truly scared out of his mind and relent. From that point on, Koji developed a case of aviophobia. Tsubaki didn't completely sympathize with him since she took more from their mother who grew up a wrench wench, but she did understand where he was coming from.

Tsubaki was about to say something about this. However, before she could, the twins heard someone call out, "Murakami!"

"Yes?" both twins asked the man who called them.

This was a common occurrence on Tomoyuki Base as the twins were subject to mistaken identity from time to time. In fact, they both shared the same features; short, brown hair that barely reached past their necks, maple eyes, intermediate body builds, and they were both in their early twenties. The only things that could set them apart was their gender. The man who called them, Kuro Takashi, groaned at having to do this... again.

"Tsubaki," he corrected himself. "I need you on heavy lifting. Get into a power suit and help out."

Tsubaki saluted Kuro, "On it, sir."

As soon as Kuro left eyeshot, Tsubaki sighed and strode over to a powered suit; a giant, roughly humanoid exosuit with a boxy canopy, stocky, bird-like legs with three toes, and five-clawed pincers on each arm. Unlike the powered suits used for military purposes, these model suits lacked the weaponry were meant more for construction and maintenance. Once she was strapped in, the angular cockpit folded down on her. With several whirs and clunking of gears and other internal components, the suit sprung into action and Koji watched his sister clank over to a Maser Tank energy core and clamp the pincers onto it and slowly walk it over to the tank before crane hooks retrieved it.

Despite not being a military member, Tsubaki was quite a natural at handling the powered suits. There was even a time when Koji tried to convince his sister to join the heavy armor division. However, she turned him down since she had seen footage of previous engagements with Godzilla before the King of the Monsters and she had a fairly good idea what happened to the mech pilots who were given a chance to meet their maker; specifically the ones hit by his Atomic Breath. She even went into great deal describing their demises over lunch one day.

"_Your standard powered suit's external armor is composed of a tungsten, titanium, chromium, and steel alloy stacked in two layers; that's four of the strongest metals on the planet. Then you have Godzilla's Atomic Breath, which is essentially super-heated plasma infused with Cherenkov Radiation fired out like a blowtorch and railgun's love-child. The moment that blast strikes the metal, the first layer doesn't have time to melt, it just straight up evaporates. The second layer holds up just for at least a fraction of a second before it melts and evaporates. Then, it reaches to the pilot who has only a millisecond to scream before getting burned to dust. And this all happens in the amount of time it takes to snap one's fingers_."

"Murakami," Kuro called out. "You've got a message."

Koji sighed, "Which one of us?"

"Both of you."

_Wow, _both_ of us?_ Koji thought. _That's certainly a first._

"Just set it over here and I'll tell Tsubaki once she's done with her work." Koji told Kuro.

Kuro shrugged and placed a large tablet device on the table before walking off. Koji sighed and touched the device's glassy-screen which lit up in a spider web-like pattern. He touched it again and the "spider-webs" extended from the screen into 3D-display before coalescing into a holographic image of a woman in her early forties. She was Japanese from the looks of it, with raven-black, slightly graying hair tied into a bun and a single bang over her left eye. Her eyes were a soft, mint green that conveyed intelligence and a commanding presence behind thin, black glasses. The woman wore a vibrant, white uniform and ink-black slipper shoes. Kuro's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of the woman in front of him.

"**Am I speaking to one of the Murakami siblings**?" the woman asked, her voice digitized via the holo-message.

"Yes, you are," Kuro replied, barely containing his disbelief at the person he was talking to. "Lieutenant Kuro Murakami of G.R.I.D. And you... are Dr. Asuka Serizawa."

Dr. Serizawa chuckled as if flattered, "**Last time I checked, I was. I am here to offer a proposal to you and your sister.**" The doctor's holo-image looked around for a little bit, "**Where **_**is**_** she by the way**?"

"She's working one of the powered suits." answered Kuro. "I'll be sure to tell her what you told me, Doctor Serizawa."

Dr. Serizawa thought it over but seemed to realize she wouldn't have enough time to wait for Tsubaki.

"**Very well. I am assembling a team for a certain expedition, one that may hold the key to understanding humanity's connection with the Kaiju and end a new war before it even begins and I am in need of you and your sister's special skills.**"

The doctor then adjusted her glasses and gave a sly smirk.

"**Interested?**"


	5. The Seeker

The _Seeker_

**Ifukube Naval Base, Osaka**

This was quite the day for Tsubaki. One moment she was helping construct a Maser cannon in a powered suit, the next she and her brother were hitching a ride in a G.R.I.D. VTOL en route to Ifukube Naval Base after being contacted by Dr. Asuka Serizawa. It had all happened so quickly, she was barely able to register what had happened. Sitting a few feet away from her was her brother and a teenager with a young man barely into his twenties with straw-colored hair, big, brown eyes, and a surprising intelligent demeanor. So, in other words, a dork.

"You got a name?" Tsuki asked the boy.

"You're talking to me?" the boy asked, giving away a soft, American accent.

"Ummm, yes. Why? Is that a problem?"

"No, no, not really. It's just that, well, um, I, well, umm, you see, ummm," the youth began to stammer.

"I'm just asking if you have a name." Tsuki told him.

"Richard," the American replied, "Richard Jackson-Hanbridge the Second. Though, everyone just calls me Ricky. And by 'everyone', I of course mean my mom, my dad, my grandpa, grandma, brother- pretty much _anyone_ in my family. What about yours?"

"Tsubaki Murakami. The guy who looks like me is my brother Koji."

Koji just gave Ricky a stiff bow (or at least the best he could give with seat-belts around him) before looking out the window, waiting for them to finally approach their destination and making it clear he wasn't in the mood for talking at the moment.

"Is your brother okay?" Ricky asked.

"Oh, don't worry about him," Tsubaki smiled and waved off. "He's just a bit aviophobic ever since an incident with our da- OOF!"

Tsubaki had been cut off by a sharp elbow to the stomach by her brother. She gave Koji a stern glare but said nothing in return. She had forgotten how much he didn't like that little subject being brought up with other people in the same room.

"You get the idea."

"So," Ricky asked. "What did G.R.I.D. want from you guys?"

Tsubaki just shrugged, "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

"We're making our descent," announced the pilot as the VTOL banked toward their destination. It was there the trio was given a window-side view of a colossal submarine. She was silver with jet black highlights and a large, spherical observatory deck on the bridge. The submarine was almost two hundred meters in length. With a submarine that size, she was no mere vessel. She was an aquatic base of operations.

Ricky gave out a whistle at the sight of the sleek, torpedo-shaped, metal behemoth currently resting at the docks, the mid-day sun gleaming off her metallic hull.

"I would _love_ to meet whoever worked on that piece of work," he commented.

"You just did," Koji told him, looking over at his sister, who was smiling and wide-eyed as if she had been reverted to a giddy ten-year-old bouncing on her tip-toes while she and their mother took a train-ride. "And that submarine? They call her, the _Seeker._"


	6. Setting Off

Setting Off

Upon landing at Ifukube Base, Koji, Tsubaki, and Ricky noticed a large gathering of people and vehicles waiting in front of the _Seeker_. The three nudged themselves into the large crowd and ventured into the submarine's depths where they saw just how massive the sub was on the inside as she was on the outside. Inside, were endless halls of technology, window ports and more. The submarine was big enough to house an entire military platoon.

While Tsubaki was gazing in almost motherly pride at the _Seeker_, Koji took the time to ask Ricky something.

"What _did_ Dr. Serizawa want with you anyway?"

"Oh, me?" Ricky replied, "I think it was because of these bad boys I made."

Ricky then pulled out sixteen objects that looked like black, metal rods with dull, orange light-piping on one end the size of an arrow. At a first glance they looked smooth, but as Koji took a closer look, he noticed they had segments in between them.

"I call them FRD's. Short for Fluid Reconnaissance Drones. I made a hobby out of creating these things. I guess it wasn't long before G.R.I.D. caught wind."

Koji rose an eyebrow and looked down to the stiff, not so fluid-looking robots resting in the American youth's hand.

"They don't look so fluid to _me_." Koji told him.

Ricky smirked, "Oh, trust me. They may not look like much _now_. But when activated, they live up to their name, believe me."

However, before Koji could reply, he was interrupted by a loud voice booming across the intercom.

"**NOW COMMENCING DIVING PROCEDURES.**"

With that, Koji noticed the vast crew of the _Seeker_ going into action; racing to their respective seats, battening down the hatches, and getting things in motion all the while shouting "Dive! Dive! Dive!"

Koji and Ricky suddenly felt the submarine jolt beneath them as she parted from the port. All the while Tsubaki just stood in giggling, almost _maternal_ pride, as the very same submarine she helped work on finally begin her maiden voyage. She became even more excited as she watched water fill the view of the port window and deck observatory until they were just barely illuminated by sunlight. It was almost like a mother watching her highschooler graduate. It had now gotten to a point where even Koji was looking at her like she had snapped.

"Hey, sis," Koji told her. "I get you're excited and all, but could you tone it down? You know, just a bit? You're kinda starting to scare me."

Tsubaki turned around and sighed, "Yeah, I know. But can you really blame me?"

Koji just groaned and walked over to the ship's schematics and began searching for the sleeping quarters.


	7. Into the Depths

Into The Depths

"**ATTENTION. ATTENTION. ALL CREW REPORT TO THE BRIDGE.**"

It had only been an hour since the _Seeker_ set off on her first maiden voyage. It had taken Koji ten minutes to find the cabins and fifty minutes to sleep off the air-lag from the VTOL trip to Ifukube Bay. Now, he, Tsubaki, Ricky, and the rest of the _Seeker _crew had gathered in the expansive bridge and took their seats. They then turned their full attention to two people standing before them.

The first was the easily recognized Dr. Asuka Serizawa. Though, this time, she was in the flesh as opposed to a holo-message. She wore a typical scientist gown while black slipper shoes rested on her feet. Her medium-length hair was tied into a bun with a Japanese-style pin holding it in place. She wore a pair of black, crescent moon glasses which hung over her intelligent, green eyes. Despite being in her forties, she looked relatively attractive and could have passed off for a model if one were to ignore the strands of gray hair and slight Crow's Feet underneath her eyes.

The person next to her was much more intimidating in appearance. He was a Japanese man who appeared to be in his fifties or early sixties. He wore a dark green uniform with the G.R.I.D. icon on the left. He was covered in scars, one prominently displayed running across his left eye to the bottom right of his chin. In place of his left eye was a cybernetic replacement with a blue iris resembling a camera lens. His right arm was a silver, biomechnical prosthetic Much like Dr. Serizawa, the man before them was also a legend among G.R.I.D.'s ranks. His name was Captain Jiro Tanaka. During the Kaiju War, Jiro had the record of most deployments against the most dangerous Kaiju, his most famous being the last stand in Old Tokyo back in 2905. As a result, his body held the most scars, each a medal of honor in their own right and a reminder of what kind of threat Kaiju, especially Godzilla, presented to humanity.

Tanaka spoke first, his deep, booming voice filled the room.

"I'm sure you're wondering why you're all here," he started. "The thing is, you are all here because of your skills and talents. Some of you are even soldiers I once fought along side, others never even saw any action when dealing with the Kaiju. The point is, you are each the best of your craft and each bring a specific set of skills to the table. Skills that will be needed to ensure success in this operation of ours. And now, I give the floor to Dr. Asuka Serizawa."

With that, he bowed to Dr. Serizawa who stepped forward. "They're all yours, Asuka." Jiro whispered into her ear.

Asuka nodded before clearing her throat before she began.

"A week ago, during an archaeological dig beneath Komaru Castle headed by me, two major discoveries were found. Yes, I am aware other discoveries have been uncovered in the past centering around ancient civilizations living along side the Kaiju," she began.

Asuka then brought up holographic images of cave-paintings, artifacts, and more depicting what looked like humans and Kaiju living in harmony with each other. One of them was a Japanese scroll depicting what looked like Mongol hordes being driven back by samurai all the while Godzilla loomed in front of the samurai as though he were leading the charge, drawn to look more like a reptilian oni with blue fire licking out of his jaws. This was the most recent discovery since humanity was given a chance to explore what their world had been like before humans were at the mercy of the giant monsters ever since the Kaiju went into deep slumber. And that did not account for the numerous hieroglyphs, sculptures, and even art from cultures that had never interacted with each other due to their placements on the planet or time either beneath the earth, hidden temples, or even the Hollow Earth tunnels the sea-faring or subterranean Kaiju used to sneak past early warning systems and catch cities by surprise.

"These are the two most unusual finds," Asuka continued, showing a holographic image of what appeared to be gibberish or hand-writing if it was being taught to a two-year-old. "The first are these writings. What might seem like nothing more than nonsensical scribbles are actually a three way hybrid of Japanese, Chinese, and even Babylonian scriptures, one third of which never interacted with the other two. The translations are still a bit rough and not quite complete, but we were able to translate one passage."

She enlarged one section of the writing and highlighted it.

"The passage reads, 'Those who wish to restore what has been broken must find the path to Malika through the Hall of the King'. And after all that, it's just a bunch of, _ahem_, word-salad."

Asuka turned off the hologram and replaced it with another, something more than just written scripture. This one depicted the fossilized remains of... something. Koji couldn't exactly put his finger on it. At a first glance, it looked like some new species of dinosaur... until he noticed the bat-like wings.

_Is that a _dragon_? _Koji thought.

"This skeleton was found deeper beneath the caverns in Kormaru Castle. And, yes, your eyes do not decieve you. This is the fossilized skeleton of a dragon. However, that is not the most fascinating element about this discovery," Asuka continued. "Fossil records reveal this skeleton is merely two thousand years old."

One crewmember then raised his hand. "So, what does this have to do with Godzilla or the Kaiju? Are you basically saying dragons had a part in this?"

Asuka nodded, "That is what I am indeed implying. I believe the dragons and this 'Malka' may hold the key to understanding ancient humanity's relationship with the Kaiju. I also believe we've pinpointed the so-called 'Hall of the King'."

She then brought up a holographic image of a particularly large Hollow Earth tunnel. It was one all-too familiar among the crew who had taken the time to read up on the last living descendant of Daisuke Serizawa's notes in the first days of post-Kaiju years. The tunnel also went by another name: The King Passage, called so because of its massive size and it had been revealed to be a tunnel used almost exclusively by Godzilla during the Kaiju War. It was also the location where humankind realized 1954 was not the first time their civilization and Kaiju had interacted before.

"Captain," the helmsman spoke up. "We're approaching the King Passage right now."

Tanaka nodded before replying, "Full-speed ahead."

"Aye, Captain."

From inside the bridge window, Koji and Tsubaki watched as the _Seeker_ slowly approached the colossal tunnel, their submarine dwarfed by the maw of the hole as she descended deep into it, like a minnow being swallowed up by a whale. The moment the floodlights turned on, one thing was clear to the siblings: They weren't turning back.


	8. The Awakening of Two Kings

The Awakening of Two Kings

**Outpost 2864, Aokigahara**

She had traveled for so long, searching for the source. Each time she had searched, the scent of it had grown stronger. Closer. Now, she and her flying fortress had arrived above a forest where humans took their own lives all because they couldn't deal with the hardships of reality. A pathetic notion if she had ever seen one. Humans were such weak creatures and it was still astounding how they were the dominant species on the planet instead of ones who were much stronger. Not like it would matter after what she planned to do. Once this was all over, the position of power would shift to those who were truly worthy.

"Are you sure he's down there?" asked her associate.

The woman's mouth molded into a grin.

"Oh, yes," she replied. "He is. Ready the troops."

Her associate nodded and headed off, the sound of clawed feet tapping against the metal bridge of the fortress. The woman turned her steely gaze to the forest and the mountain it surrounded and smirked. It wouldn't be long now.

Takao Jishin couldn't wait for his shift to be over. He had been staring at the gigantic, petrified body of what had to be the strangest Kaiju he, or for that matter anyone, had laid eyes on. According to files left over by three scientists who had been around ever since this creature's discovery back in 2864. Apparently, this thing had an entire plethora of names to go by as reports from two of the original scientists referred by names such as San'nin no Shi San No Uta (Death Song of Three Storms) or the more generic sounding "Monster Zero" which was a bit more fitting considering G.R.I.D. knew absolutely little to nothing about this thing. There was apparently another name for this Kaiju stated in the records of the late Chuck Wilson and Ivan Grenchiko: Ghidorah. Though, honestly, given what he had read, that name could have been the result of their insane ramblings which ultimately resulted in their suicides.

Seriously? Ghidorah? That sounded like a name given to an alien conqueror from a children's anime. But, then again, given how little information they had on this Kaiju, it might as _well_ have been an alien despite records clearly stating it to be Earth-borne. Also, there had been Kaiju of "mystical" origin before like the Divine Moths Mothra and Battra, the shisa King Caesar who currently lay dormant within his lair in Okinawa, and the water-controlling dragoness Manda who, during the Kaiju War, usually patrolled the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Origins not withholding, "Ghidorah" was intimidating even when incased in what could only be described as diamond. Within its casing, he could make out three, draconic heads, a pair of wings, two legs, and twin tails. Even when in a pose which implied pain, this Kaiju was probably one of the largest, if not _the_ largest living thing on the planet, even dwarfing Godzilla. Not only that, but direct contact was not allowed to the crystalline structure encasing the monster since Doctors Grenchicko and Wilson ended up going mad and committing suicide; Wilson first then Grenchicko following nineteen years later. The cause had been linked to both touching the crystal structure.

Takao took a sip of his tea which had now turned lukewarm at this point. The next shift was going to happen in an hour anyway, so he wouldn't need to stay here much longer and spend his entire shift looking at a three-headed dragon.

"Enjoying the view, Takao?" asked Shino, a colleague of his.

Takao shot him a deadpan stare.

"Oh, nothing much," he replied, taking a sip of his tea. "Just a big dragon-thing trapped in crystal that might or might not convince you to commit suicide if you make direct, physical contact. Not really a view worth enjoying."

"You got a point there," Shino nodded. "But you got to admit it's kinda intriguing. You know, in a horrifying sort of way. It really makes you wonder."

"Wonder what?"

"What it must have been like when it was free to move around. What kind of a nightmare it must have been for the ancient people."

"Who knows?" Takao replied, not really caring.

"Just imagi- hey, who is that!?"

Takao nearly spit out his tea when he saw a woman on the lower floor walking toward the petrified dragon. Her lack of appropriate attire was a clear sign she was not authorized personnel. In fact, she looked more like she was cosplaying as a villainess from a fantasy anime with gold and black armor and a cloak comprised of the darkest shades of purple and red. Her hair was a deep, dark blue. Ironically, her skin was incredibly pale, almost as if it was made of bleached ivory. What's more, they didn't hear the elevator so she couldn't have arrived that way. How did she get in?

"Call security." Takao told Shino.

Shino nodded and dashed off. Takao set his tea aside and walked over to a microphone.

"**Ma'am**," he called out, his voice amplified by the mic. "**You are in a restricted area. I must ask you to vacate the premises immediately**."

The woman stopped mid-walk to turn her yellow-colored eyes to him briefly before continuing her walk toward Monster Zero, her clawed, high-heeled shoes clicking against the metal floor.

"**Ma'am**!" Takao shouted, "**I'm only going to say this one more time; vacate the premises or you will be **_**dragged**_** out**!"

This time, she didn't even respond as she continued her way toward the petrified Kaiju.

_Where the Hell is Security_? Takao thought.

She gazed up at the petrified monolith before her. Even encased in a crystal separating him from the outside world, she could still sense his power surging within it. It had been so long since she last laid eyes upon him and, now, she was moments away from setting him free from his prison. However, she heard a clicking noise and, from the corner of her left eye, glanced a human pointing a weapon at her.

"Ma'am," Kuro Ishika told the woman. "You are in a restricted area and must leave the premises immediately. I have been authorized to use force and will even _kill_ you if you don't comply."

The woman shot him a brief glance from the corner of her eye before returning it to Monster Zero.

"Didn't your mother tell you it's rude to point a weapon at a lady?" she asked, her voice deep and rich with a hint of cold bitterness almost like molasses left to freeze in the snow. She then began to reach out her bare right hand toward the crystal, her nails resembling talons.

Kuro, taken aback at first regained himself and raised his rifle.

"_Ma'am_," Kuro growled. "This is your second warning. Keep your distance away from Monster Zero!"

The woman then let out a laugh laced with taunting cruelty that echoed throughout the base. "'Monster Zero'!? Is _that_ what you've been calling him? How typical of you humans to give gods such dull names that don't even come _close_ to matching their true majesty!"

Kuro was just this close to losing it with this lady. First, she trespassed on a restricted base, then she ignored all commands to leave, and now she was acting like a smart-ass.

"Ma'am," the security officer snarled, this time cocking his rifle to make it clear he was serious. "I am going to give you to the count of three. One. _Two_. Thr-_URGK_!"

Without warning, the woman's left hand shot out with such speed and force, Kuro didn't have enough time to realize what had happened until he could feel the intruder's fingers wrap around his neck like a vice and his rifle hit the floor with a metallic _thud_.

"Another typical trait humans are infamous for," the woman hissed before her mouth twisted into a cruel grin. "They always think they have the situation under control."

Takao watched in horror as the intruder's grasp tightened until a loud _pop_ was heard and Kuro's neck was bent into a ninety-degree angle, his body going limp instantly, the action illiciting screams, gasps, and shouts from the faculty. The woman then non-chalantly tossed aside the motionless body like the man she just killed was a bag of trash. Just then, one of the security members fired his gun at the woman, only for her to snatch the bullet with her fingers inches away from her face. She first examined in her pointer finger and thumb before pinching them together, flattening the bullet into a disk before letting it drop to the ground. She then closed her eyes and took a breath.

"That's how you want to do it?" she asked calmly and quietly, her eyes still closed. "Clearly, one of you wasn't enough of an example anyway."

Her eyes snapped open as her beautiful face was curled into a grimace.

"Kill the armed ones."

Before anyone could react, an inhuman screech split the air as a security guard was grabbed from behind by clawed, scaly hands and lifted up by... something. The creature, standing nine-feet-tall held the man by his arms and legs as he screamed for help, trying desperately to wriggle his way out of the beast's grasp before it folded him downward in a ninety-degree angle like he was a folder, his spine cracking loudly as his life was instantly ended. The creature then threw the man's body aside into a row of computers, the impact causing them to spark. Before anyone could react, more and more of the same creatures began appearing out of nowhere, attacking the security guards.

The creatures were each nine-feet in size and resembled humanoid Komodo Dragons with sickly, mottled green and brown scales. What was most disturbing about them were their faces which looked like skulls that had a layer of skin stretched over them with slits for nostrils, exposed fangs, and sunken in, amber eyes. They carried what looked like guns resembling misshapen claws with gemstones attached on their muzzles from which bolts of energy shot out, leaving scorching holes in whomever they hit. However, despite these weapons, the lizardmen were just as willing to use their claws, whip-like tails, and brute strength to get the job done. One of the lizard-people went so far as to grab one security officer, unhinge its jaw, and bite the man's head clean off before tossing the corpse aside. The body landed in front of one of the female faculty members who let out a distressed scream as the headless body dripped blood onto the floor. All the while, their scales served the same purpose as kevlar keeping bullets at bay to a certain degree although one guard was able to take out one of them with a well-placed bullet to the eye before another of the creatures took its fallen brother's place and shot him dead with its own weapon.

Takao looked around desperately for Shino, hoping he had escaped from the carnage before it began. He then spotted the alert button and began to sneak towards it. Right now, the lizard people and the murderous intruder were preoccupied with slaughtering anyone shooting at them and oggling Monster Zero to pay him any notice. G.R.I.D. needed to know about this. They could probably help. He slowly made his way to the button, looking back to make sure he wasn't noticed. However, once he was a foot away from the button, he suddenly felt himself seize up with his hand reaching out towards it, as if his body were paralyzed. He realized he could move his head in a very stiff motion. He jerkily turned his head to notice the woman had somehow appeared on his level. She currently had her right hand extended with her fingers positioned akin to a puppeteer holding a control bar. He looked down to notice her shadow's fingers _were connected to his_.

"Trying to be a little snitch are we?" she purred like a cat playing with its food. She wagged her finger and shook her head like a mother scolding her child. "Looks like somebody is in need of a punishment."

She then sharply twisted her hand to the right and Takao could feel his limbs twist and bend against his will, sharp pain coursing through him. He tried opening his mouth to scream but all he could muster was a small whimper. The woman smirked at his pain, clearly enjoying it.

"My my my," she mockingly told him. "That looked like it hurt. Let's see what happens when I do _this_."

This time, she slowly turned her hand to the left, Takao's limbs folding and bending once again as the pain worsened. He felt as though his limbs were going to pop off as the woman's face bore a twisted, sinister grin akin to a six-year-old playing with a doll. He tried so hard to scream but it never came.

"Umbra," called out a voice, "that's_ enough_!"

Umbra turned to see Kalos standing behind her, having taken on a lanky, human form garbed in black and gold robes with his glasses sitting on his nose all the while his amber eyes were narrowed in a disapproving glare. She sighed at the tone of voice used by her chief scientist/lieutenant. It reminded her of when her mother would reprimand her. Oh, well, she had her fun and it was time to put the human out of his misery. She lifted her left finger toward the human's shadow and made a cutting motion and released her shadow grip spell on him. The human's head went one way, his body another.

"Are the charges set?" she asked.

"Yes," Kalos replied. "They're set to detonate in a minute."

"Good. Now let us be off."

Kalos frowned as he looked upon the humans who were still standing in shock upon seeing their associates slaughtered by their Reptoid soldiers.

"What about the other humans?" he asked.

"What _about_ the other humans?" Umbra replied, her voice colder than ice. "They're vermin, Kalos. Nothing more and nothing less. They deserve what's coming to them on principle of existing."

Kalos was about to say something but quickly shoved his reply aside. There was no point in arguing with someone set in their ways like Umbra. He understood leaving the Reptoids behind since all they were engineered to do was fight, kill, eat, and die. Leaving humans to die was something that still didn't sit well in his stomach.

"Very well." he said as he joined her, taking one last look towards the humans as he and his mistress were about to leave them to their fate. Umbra waved her hand in front of them before tendrils of inky-black smoke swirled around them before it drifted away with neither of them in sight.

Shino popped his head from beneath the computer desk he had been hiding under during the slaughter. He had seen everything; the woman killing Kuro and then Takao, the lizard people slaughtering anyone who shot at them, and the woman and her associate disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Now, he and the rest of the faculty of Outpost 2864 remained, the lizard men just standing still as statues. He wondered why they were still here until he heard a strange noise emanating from Monster Zero's crystal. Instantly his mind clicked. Those people were here to free it! He wrapped his arms around his head as he and the rest of his colleagues braced for the explosions. The first one was a loud _pop_, almost like a firecracker. Then came the second, this one sounding much louder and more violent. Then the fourth. Then the fifth. Then... _silence_.

Takao pulled the arms off his head in puzzlement. That was it? He looked at the crystallized Kaiju to see if any damage was done. From his position, he didn't see anything on the crystal; there were no cracks, no scorchmarks, not even so much as a single scratch. He felt like laughing. If those two wanted to free Monster Zero, they had to do something better than five measly bombs.

_Crack._

Takao's eyes widened as he looked upward to the petrified hydra to see a crack the length of a pick-up truck, one that began to branch out like a spider web. Then, came another, this one twice the size of the last. This too began to spider out, but this time, yellow sparks began to materialize. One spark shot forward and struck one of the scientists in the chest, sending him flying three feet into the air and slamming him into a desk, the impact knocking a computer off. The man stood back up with a groan, brushing himself off. Just then, the man noticed his finger was starting to turn black and ashy... which began to spread. Takao and his colleagues watched in horror as the man slowly turn to ash as all he could do was scream either in panic, pain, or both. The man let out a loud scream as his agonizing death was, thankfully and mercifully, cut short as his body was reduced to fiery dust which collapsed onto the ground.

The sparks began to intensify as pieces of the crystal began to break off. Some started off as the size of tennis balls which left dents in the computers and floor before growing to the size of boulders which crushed anything they landed upon, causing the scientists to start making a break for it only to be cut off by the lizard men who stepped in front of them and pushed them back as if forcing them to meet their deaths. Just then, a golden bolt launched out of the deteriorating crystal and struck a female scientist who let out a short scream before she vanished in a puff of dust. At least, compared to the last person, her death was quick.

Shino watched in horror as the new chaos enfolded before him. Just as he thought nothing could get any worse, a loud, inhuman screech filled the air, drowning out the screams of panic and death. Shino looked towards the crystal and felt his heart flop as the silhouette of Monster Zero made a slight movement with its left wing.

_It's waking up_! Shino thought in horror.

Before he could do anything, a bolt of energy struck his hiding place and sent it flying. He yelped as he realized he was now in the open before a large shadow appeared above him. The scientist slowly looked up to meet a pair of blood-red, snake-like eyes glaring down on him with what could only be described as hatred; Pure, malevolent, unbridled _hatred_. Before he could do anything, the creature's neck began to pulse with energy as its eyes turned from red to yellow before it breathed in. The creature let out a piercing shriek as light from behind its throat rushed out toward him. The only comfort he had was that his death was quick.

Umbra and Kalos waiting outside, the afternoon sun glinting off the otherwise gloomy forest. They could hear the sounds of chaos beneath them and feel the ground reverberate beneath their feet. Suddenly, silence fell as quick as the chaos began. Kalos turned to his mistress.

"Wait for it." she told him.

Sure enough, the ground erupted as a large figure burst from underneath with a piercing shriek, sending terra firma flying into the air while leaving a tree-swallowing hole big enough to fit an entire ship into. This was soon followed by the creature landing on the ground with such force, the impact nearly knocking both Kalos and Umbra off their feet as they gazed up toward the demon before them.

The creature balanced its (or rather _his_) massive form on two bat-like wings which encompassed the width of his body. His legs were both muscular and gangly with four toed feet resembling bird talons. Behind him were a pair of long tails each ending in a cluster of quills and a spear-like spike on the ends. The quills would open up and close, making sounds akin to a rattlesnake. His body was covered in striking, gold scales which reflected the sunlight in a way that made him look dazzling and menacing at the same time. However, the most striking feature were his heads. All three of them. His necks were long and serpentine while his heads looked like snakes with demonic, horse-like muzzles. Each head was surrounded by eight horns. The outer two heads were straight while the middle head's horns were curved while a crescent moon shaped crest rested on the top of its head almost like a crown. There also seemed to be something of a hierarchy between the heads as the left and right ones slavered and snapped like rabid wolves while the center head carried a sense of intellect and haughty pride. All three heads looked down upon Kalos and Umbra, six pairs of blood-red eyes locked on to her.

Umbra stepped forth and bowed before the golden dragon.

"My king." she greeted the behemoth.

_**Umbra, **_the hydra acknowledged, his telepathic voice sounding like three voices at once. _**Is that truly you? **_

"It is, oh, mighty Ghidorah," Umbra replied, head still bowed.

Ghidorah let out a hissing scoff. _**Why did you just **_**now**_** awaken me when you should have done it **_**ages **_**ago? **_The Golden Demise demanded.

"It took me a while to trace your energy, oh, mighty Golden King," Umbra explained. "I didn't know where to find you. I doubt it really matters now."

The three-headed dragon huffed in indifference. Indeed it didn't matter either way. He was out of that accursed crystal prison and back into the world. Frankly, that was all that mattered to him anyway. His middle head lifted into the air and flicked its forked tongue out.

_**The world has changed since I was around.**_ Ghidorah commented.

"Indeed it has, my king," Umbra nodded.

Ghidorah then noticed he wasn't at full strength. Normally, the sky would be swallowed up in storms right about now just by him being in the area. Perhaps he was trapped inside that crystal for too long. No matter, his strength would return and soon, the world would bow before its true master. Even the mighty Xanlanth wouldn't be able to stand in his way. With that, he raised his heads and spread his wings as he stood on his two feet and let loose his cackling screech, announcing his return to the waking world.

**Outpost 1954, Marianas Trench**

"Doctor Kondo!" Kiyo cried out, "We have a situation!"

Kondo rushed down and arrived to Kiyo's side.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Godzilla has ceased consumption of geothermal radiation."

Sure enough, Kondo noticed the Monster King's dorsal fins had stopped glowing and reverted to their usual bone-white coloration. What was going on?

"Check his vitals." Kondo ordered Kiyo.

The younger scientist nodded as she went into overdrive while Kondo looked out toward the motionless Kaiju. If Godzilla had ceased his geothermal feast, it meant one or two things. The first, and possibly the best case if not impossible scenario, Godzilla's age had caught up to him and he passed away in his sleep. The second: Godzilla was now waking up and humanity was in big trouble.

"Doctor Kondo, Godzilla's vitals are normal," Kiyo told him. "In fact, they-" Just then, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"Oh, _shit_." she hissed, dropping all pretenses.

"What?"

"According to these readings, he's waking up."

_Oh, shit _indeed. Kondo thought as he turned his gaze toward Godzilla. This was followed by everyone in Outpost 1954 as they stopped everything and gazed out to the window as Godzilla began to move. The first thing to move was his head as he rose up from his meditating pose to his full height. This was followed by his fire-colored eyes snapping open and filling the dark depths with a burning, inner light. The King of the Monsters then turned around until his gaze was locked onto Outpost 1954. Even at a fair distance away, Kondo, Kiyo, Haru, and everyone in the facility could feel the sheer spite emanating from Godzilla. After all, who could blame him for being angry at the sight of his enemies upon waking up.

"Energy spike detected!" Haru shouted.

Kondo didn't need to have a report on that, when he could see Godzilla's dorsal fins begin to flash bright blue and the water around his opening, lupine-like mouth start to boil. There was nowhere to run. They didn't have time to evacuate. There was only enough time for Kondo to say his last words on this mortal plane as Godzilla pulled his head back.

"Uh-oh."

With that, Outpost 1954 and all one hundred fifty six staff and crew, including security and military, left the world of the living in a single, fiery explosion, courtesy of Godzilla's Atomic Breath. Satisfied with his kill, Godzilla turned his head toward the surface and, using his tail, launched himself upward like a space rocket leaving Earth. In a matter of minutes, his misshapen, maple leaf-shaped dorsal fins broke the surface before the top half of his body followed.

For the first time since he went to sleep in 2945, Godzilla's nostrils got a whiff of salty air. The King of the Monsters lifted his wolf-like head into the sky and opened his jaws to let loose his deafening roar, announcing his return to the waking world.


	9. Return of the Kaiju

Return of the Kaiju

**Gornoye Kol'tso**

**Just below Outpost 1955, Beluhka Mountain, Siberia**

"AND STAY OUT!"

And just like that, Daniil Boroshev found himself thrown out of the Mt. Moonshine pub and face-first into the early morning snow. The man shakily lifted himself to a sitting position to see the owner of the pub, a man in his forties with the build, eyes, brown beard, and smell of an angry bear leering down on him.

"I knew you were a piece of shit, Boroshev," the owner growled. "But, hitting your own daughter? That's disgraceful, even for_ you_. You want to show your face around here again, I suggest you learn to treat your own kin the right way."

With that, the owner slammed the door shut, knocking a pile of snow onto the drunk. Daniil muttered a curse at the bear-man as he sloppily got to his feet, the vodka just _now_ starting to wear off. He brushed the snow off his coat and spat at the door of the pub. Not his fault his tramp of a daughter snuck out when she wasn't supposed to. He was just laying down the law like a father _shoul__d _do. After this incident, she would think twice about coming home lest she wanted something worse than a slap to the face.

Muttering to himself, Daniil began the long stumble back home. He then took the time to look up to the G.R.I.D. Kaiju Outpost which clung to Mt. Beluhka like a cancerous growth. That outpost was an eyesore ever since Gornoye Kol'tso (The Mountain Ring) was built back in 2947, two years after G.R.I.D. managed to locate and contain the Kaiju Anguirus.

The town drunk then tasted something metallic and wiped his mouth, his glove streaked with blood. He grimaced angrily.

"Goddamnit, Natasha," he muttered to himself. "I'm gonna show you what you did to me. It's your fault you got me thrown out of there in the first place."

However, just when the drunk couldn't think this day was about to get any worse, life just had to throw a curveball at him once again. It all started with what could only be described as the sound of an explosion. Daniil watched as the outpost began to crumble apart like a house of cards. Pieces of wreckage began to roll down the mountainside as tidal waves of snow began to build up from the collapsing outpost.

"_AVALANCHE_!" Daniil cried out, running for his life.

The denizens paused to watch the town drunk screaming like a lunatic as he ran past them. However, the moment they looked up, they followed suit; women carrying their children on their backs, men trying to push and shove others out of the way only to get caught up in the sea of fleeing bodies and trampled under foot, all the while the tide of snow barreled toward their village, already having engulfed the forest. By the time the people had made it out to the safety point, the first houses had already become swallowed up by the white tide. Any stragglers had also been consumed by the avalanche. Just then, Daniil noticed Natasha and the pub owner make their way up to the safe point before what looked like a boulder twice the size of three houses and covered in what looked like enormous icicles launched into the air. The "boulder" then seemed to change in mid-air before it crashed down. The shockwave from the impact parted the avalanche and obliterated any houses not swallowed up by the seething tide. Sadly for Daniil, the impact seemed to send forth a wave of cold which engulfed any house or living thing unable to escape in time in a sheet of ice.

Natasha, along with the other survivors,watched from afar as Anguirus lifted his massive, horned head and loosed a roar in the center of the town she once called her home.

**Paaulilo**

**66 miles from Outpost 1956, Mauna Kea**

"Grandma! Grandma!" nine-year-old Lelui Oponui cried out with joy as she ran barefoot to her grandmother Ka'ehu's house, a prize in her hands after. "Look at what I've got!"

The forty year old woman rushed out and gave her granddaughter a stern glare.

"Lelui," she scolded her. "What have I told you about running off to the beach without telling me? Something could've happened to you!"

Lelui crossed her legs and cast her grandmother an apolegetic look.

"Sorry, Grandma." she told her innocently.

Ka'ehu sighed at the bittersweet reminder of how much her nine-year-old granddaughter resembled her own daughter Kina; her long, black hair, her soft, innocent, blue eyes, her sun-kissed, tan skin making her a near-mirror image. Kina had given birth to Lelui at a very young age -eighteen to be precise-, months after a one-night stand and, with no aid from the deadbeat ex-boyfriend who would rather be a permanent bachelor than a responsible father, Kae'hu had stepped in to help raise Lelui. Sadly, Kina would not live long to see her daughter grow up as she had become a casualty of an attack by the Kaiju currently sleeping within the depths of Mauna Kea, thus forcing Kae'hu to be the only family the nine-year-old ever knew. She even had the same, restless, curious nature her beloved Kina once had while growing up, as well as a tendency to sneak out of the house without permission. It was almost as though Lelui was a clone of the mother she barely knew.

"Alright," Kae'hu said, kneeling down on her sandaled feet so her eyes were on the same level as her granddaughter's and a gentle smile across her face. "What do you have to show me?

Lelui smiled and pulled her hands apart to reveal the glossiest, smoothest, most iridescent shell she had ever seen. She could still smell the sea-salt on it and she noted how much it looked almost like obsidian.

"I was thinking about putting it in my room," Lelui told her.

Suddenly, there was a loud screech in the air. A screech which came from Mauna Kea. Kae'hu could feel her heart sink in her chest as her dark skin turned paler than usual. It was the same noise of the monster that took her beloved Kina away.

"No," she whispered. "No, please, no."

Lelui gave Kae'hu a concerned look as their neighbors stared off toward Mauna Kea. The nine-year-old noted how her skin had now turned a paler tone of brown and became slicked with beading sweat all the while she stood in place trembling ever so noticeably. She had never seen her grandmother this... _scared_.

"Grandma?" Lelui asked. "What's going on? Is the volcano erupting?"

Kae'hu immediately pulled Lelui into a closed, tight, slightly shaking embrace, coating her with her cold sweat.

"No," she replied.

Indeed the volcano wasn't erupting. Instead, something else was coming out of it. Something far, _far_ worse. There was a loud, prolonged, squeaking noise, almost like a giant kettle full of boiling water had been sitting on a stove for far too long. It all climaxed into a deafening explosion which sent everyone in the area staggering from the shock wave, despite the almost seventy mile distance. Thick, black smoke burst forth into the sky as if a bomb had detonated deep within the otherwise dormant volcano. Just then, something else began to come out of the mouth of Mauna Kea. Even from far away, the people of Paaulilo could see a massive, three-fingered wing-claw emerge from the mouth and dig into the side of the volcano, followed by another which began to hoist up an enormous body only barely obscured by the smoke. The beast then spread its wings, dispersing the cloud and revealing itself to be a Kaiju that looked like a gigantic, reptilian condor covered in bronze-red scales instead of feathers and a glowing fringe running along its wings. After shaking the magma off her body like a dog, Rodan Prime let out a banshee-like cry and shot into the air like a reptavian missile. Almost immediately after, the screams of people were only matched in volume by the sirens.

**Outpost 2949-A, New Delhi**

"**RED ALERT! RED ALERT! KAIJU ACTIVITY RISING!**"

Doc. Araav Rahul rushed toward the bridge of Outpost 2945, making sure he held his ground against the sporadic, earthquake-like vibrations striking the facility.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"It's Ganesha, sir!" called back Adhar Shimuv, his top advisor. "He's waking up!"

Sure enough, on the monitors, Aarav could see the massive back of the slumbering Kaiju start to stir, pieces of terra firma that had not been grafted onto its back starting to fall off. This wasn't right. Why was the Kaiju just now waking up? What was going on? What's more, it turned out they weren't the only outpost having a problem with their Kaiju.

"Have you tried sedatives?"

"Sir," replied Banhi Junda, "we've given Ganesha enough sedatives to knock out a pod of whales for a year. He hasn't even so much as _yawned_. It's like he _wants_ to wake up!"

Just then, a violent shock ripped through the Outpost and knocked Aarav and most of the facility off their feet. On the monitors, Aarav could only watch as the Kaiju hoisted himself up from his resting place and was given a good look at the creature he and the rest of Outpost 2945 had been put in charge of.

Much like his namesake, Ganesha was an elephant. However, there were a few differences. For one thing, he was massive; standing a hundred times larger than even the biggest Woolly Mammoth. Instead of smooth, curving tusks, his seemed to branch out into multiple points as if someone took a deer's or elk's antlers and stuck them where his tusks went. His body was also covered with rock, dirt, trees, and other plant-life as if they had literally been grafted onto the gray, leathery skin beneath that only popped out every so often. It was as if Ganesha was part pachyderm, part walking ecosystem. The elephantine Kaiju then lifted his trunk into the air and a trumpeting call could be heard deep within the outpost before the cameras finally glitched out.

**G.R.I.D. Japanese Division, New Tokyo**

Commander Juro Misashi was not having the best day right now. The thirty-seven-year-old man was currently watching what might as well have been the end of the world and the announcements made by the bridge bunnies was _not _helping. Right now, the best he could do was try and keep a levelled head. Something he found _very_ hard to accomplish since already four Kaiju were awake and two of their outposts had gone dark, one of them being Godzilla who had been found a half-hour by underwater surveillance drones after no doubt destroying Outpost 1954. What's more, Godzilla's outpost wasn't the only one G.R.I.D. couldn't reach as any attempts to contact Outpost 2864 were answered with silence. Outpost 1955 was at least able to send out a distress call moments before it too went dead (along with a good amount of Gornoye Kol'tso), Outpost 1956 reported damage but were otherwise still standing with minimal casualties with civilian casualties thankfully at zero, and Outpost 2949-A reported little to no damage since they were monitoring Ganesha from a safe distance. However, what started out as four Kaiju on the loose began to snowball as the massive computer monitor began to light up in red dots like a Christmas tree followed by camera footage of a Kaiju waking up. Misashi watched as Zilla tore apart a dock in New York Harbor, the winged, humanoid/avian form of Garuda shoot into the skies above Doi Nang Non, Varan and Okami-Ojo ripping through their respective outposts in Hokkaido, King Caesar bursting out of his cliff-face lair in Okinawa, the entirety of Outpost 1967-C disappearing into a sinkhole before Kumonga's spear-like limbs pulled her out, the skeletal, humanoid/cervine form of Wendigo stomping away from what was left of Outpost 2949-C, and Rio De Janiro being over-run by swarms of Meganula while their queen, Megaguirus, clung to Christ the Redeemer like the demonic insect she was.

"Sir," called out one of the bridge bunnies. "We just lost contact with Outpost 1995!"

"Outpost 1965 is reporting Baragon has disappeared underground moments after waking up!"

"Outpost 1972's gone dark!"

"Message from Outpost 1963: Manda has begun moving!"

"Movement spotted in Loch Ness. Could be Guivre!"

Misashi continued to watch the monitor in complete disbelief. In his heart, he knew that any human being on every continent tuning in were now faced with their worst nightmare coming true: The Kaiju were back.

"Tanaka," Misashi muttered. "You and Serizawa picked a lousy as _Hell_ day to go exploring."

**Outpost 1964, Infant Island**

"I just got a report from G.R.I.D. HQ," reported Dr. Mina Harashi to her superior, Dr. Jim Nelson. "They just lost contact with Outpost 1994."

Dr. Nelson sighed at this news.

"When did this happen?" he asked.

"Ten seconds ago."

"Have you tried contacting the other outposts?"

"I did, but all I got was static. For all we know, we're on our own."

Nelson walked back to the monitor in the tent which was filled to the brim of camera footage depicting the Kaiju waking up. He then looked at drone footage of Godzilla currently swimming in the Pacific Ocean. Apparently those theories about the Big Gray Gecko were true; he _was_ a catalyst and he was doing the same thing he did back in 1954. This time, there were new Kaiju waking up in addition to the beasts mankind had faced all the way until 2945. The old Kaiju they could handle, it was the new blood they were definitely going to have problems with since they knew little to nothing about them nor the correct simulated training procedures to combat them.

"Doctor Nelson!"

Jim turned to see another colleague of his, Dr. Jun Ando, poke his head into the tent.

"Ando, I don't think now is a good time."

"Doctor, it's the Anak-Anak Tikus," Ando told him. "They're gathering at the waterfall."

Nelson turned to look toward his colleague. The native Anak-Anak Tikus (or Children of the Moth) only gathered for one reason only and if what Ando said was true-.

"Take us there," Nelson told him. "Now."

Ando nodded and led Nelson and Harashi to a massive waterfall where, true to his word, the natives of Infant Island were gathered; women, men, elders, and children all sitting and staring at the moon-reflected waters as if waiting for something, their bodies covered in red, white, yellow, purple, and black paint and glittery salve which reflected the moonlight on their tanned bodies. Just then, Nelson noticed a pair of identical twin girls walk up a crude staircase toward the massive waterfall. The girls were in their late teens and were garbed in robes which resembled moth wings but with striking purple, red, and yellow patterns which popped out among the black interior. Their hair was dyed white with tannish highlights while their front bangs were cut in a way it resembled the antennae on a moth. Despite the cold, Autumn kissed spray from the waterfall making the stone-composed rock very cold, the girls paid no mind as they strode up in their bare feet.

"_Mosura_." they chanted in a united, musical voice. "_Mosura_."

Nelson watched as the people of Infant Island performed a ritual never seen since the Kaiju War ended back in girls then reached the top the Anak-Anak Tikus began to fill the air with the music of drums and flutes, leading to the twins beginning to sing as they twirled and danced to the rhythm.

**Mosura ya Mosura.**

** Dongan kasakuyan indo muu.**

** Rusuto uiraandoa, hanban hanbamuyan**

** Randa banunradan**

** Tounjukanraa**

** Kasaku yaamu.**

Nelson recognized this song. It was a prayer to the Kaiju of the island; one of the few Kaiju who stepped in and helped humanity every so often during skirmishes against the rampaging beasts and the only creature even Godzilla showed any genuine respect for. A creature, whose melodic cry erupted from behind the waterfall. Nelson then noted a colossal body moving behind the sheet of water, with what looked like glowing, blue jewels the size of cars. A massive, scythe-like raptorial claw emerged into view before digging into the rock, piercing it as though it were made of butter. Just then, a pair of wings twice the length of a cruise ship and colored just like the robes worn by the twins spread out, a bright, turquoise glow emanating from the fringes and eye-like patterns on the top and bottom making them appear like stained glass windows made out of silk with the sunlight shining through them. Soon enough, Nelson watched as the Kaiju's full body began to crawl its (or rather her) way out. The way the Kaiju moved was more akin to a praying mantis, only much larger and with, surprisingly, fluid movement. Her longer mid-legs and clawed hindlegs held her forty-meter body eighty meters off the ground while her smaller front legs were tucked closely to her thorax. Her carapace was mostly white but with tanned stripes while a tuft of pure white fur surrounded her head like the collar of a Victorian queen's dress. Her composite eyes were mostly blue with highlights of purple in the center and glowed with a bright, yet strangely comforting light.

After finally emerging all the way from her lair, Mothra, the Goddess of Peace, let out another melodic cry into the night.


	10. Conversation in the Depths

A Conversation in the Depths

**The King Passage**

It had been two hours since the _Seeker_ slipped into the tunnel though it felt like two days. From his quarters, Tanaka watched as the nearly endless tunnels filled with paintings recording how humanity and Kaiju shared a bond once upon a time when it was discovered how Godzilla could use one of these tunnels to slip past defenses and alarms and catch cities offguard. And now, here he was, with a crew numbering in several hundreds, diving deep into a gateway to a primordial world. It was as humbling as it was intimidating. The only thing that was keeping his nerves were the lucid tones of DeBussy's Clair de Lune.

Just then, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in," he told them.

The door opened revealing Asuka Serizawa carrying a bottle of what looked like wine.

"Enjoying the view, Captain?" she asked.

"It's certainly humbling, Dr. Serizawa." Tanaka replied.

The woman just gave him a small smile before setting down two glasses.

"Just call me Asuka, Tanaka," she told him. "You don't need to be formal with me right now."

Tanaka gave the descendant of Daisuke Serizawa a teasing grin.

"Are you trying to flirt with me? Because I'm afraid you're forty years too late. If I were still twenty, though..." he said.

Asuka gave a small laugh as she uncorked the bottle.

"No, offense, sir, but when I was in my prime, I didn't really have a type to begin with. I was too focused on exploring and unearthing the mysteries of our world and whether or not a harmonious life with Godzilla and the Kaiju was in any way possible. Continuing the Serizawa heritage was quite frankly the _least_ of my concerns."

Asuka then poured each glass with clear, golden liquid that smelled faintly of berries with a sprinkling of pepper. She then picked up her own glass and spun the liquid around.

"Oh well," she shrugged. "Some bloodlines have to end somewhere I suppose."

She then pushed the glass over to Tanaka.

Tanaka looked down at the liquid before turning his gaze back to Asuka.

"You know, as a captain, I need to set a good example for the crew," he told her.

"Don't worry." Asuka replied. "It's Letchi Berry wine. It has so little alcohol in it you might as well be drinking white grape juice with some pepper flakes in it. The only way it would affect you is if you drink a year's worth of it."

Tanaka took her up on her word and picked up his glass, letting the liquid slide down his throat. Sure enough, it tasted sweet; almost like a berry/grape cocktail before it finished off with a sharp, biting spice. It later ended with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

"So," Tanaka asked, setting his glass down. "What _do_ you expect to find when we reach this 'Malika'?"

Asuka shrugged before taking another sip of her wine. "Maybe something akin to Machu Picchu," she replied. "Some ruins, maybe some pottery, and heiroglyphics. I'm not expecting a thriving civilization."

"Do you really think it?" Tanaka asked. "I mean, do you think we'll find the answer to restoring whatever unity we had with the Kaiju?"

Asuka sighed. "Jiro, I'm going to level with you. Even I can't be so sure we'll find anything. That's the thing about theories, they don't always turn out the way you want or wish them to."

Just then, before Jiro could speak, there was a shrill, beeping noise coming from the console.

"What's going on?" Asuka asked.

Tanaka walked over to the button and noticed it was a message from Ifukube Harbor. This baffled the old captain since they were just now calling even though, this far deep in the King Passage, transmissions from the surface would be very flaky. Something didn't seem right.

_Might as well check_. Tanaka thought, he pressed the button and a hologram of Lt. Ryota Jinshi appeared. Sure enough, the message was garbled though, he and Serizawa could tell something was wrong.

"**Atten... **_**eeker**_**... th... fukub... der... ttack... odz... guir... oken thr... defen... ine... t... aiju... awa...end... epeat... Kai... kened!**"

Then, just like that, the transmission cut out. Asuka had tilted her head in confusion.

"What was that all about?"

Even Tanaka couldn't answer. All he could make out was something about Ifukube Harbor under attack by something. Whatever it must have been, it was enough for the harbor to send an SOS out of desperation. What the Hell was going on the surface anyway?

A sudden, fiery glow made it clear whatever was going on had to wait. The _Seeker _had finally arrived at the other end of the tunnel, and into a new, primordial world.


	11. A Hopeless Battle

A Hopeless Battle

**Ifukube Harbor, Osaka**

"_Seeker_," Ryota shouted, trying desperately to regain holocommunication with the submarine, "_Seeker_, do you read me, the Kaiju are awake. I repeat, the Kaiju are awa-!"

The jolt of an explosion shook through the command post and knocked the man off his feet. Ryota hoisted himself up to see the chaos unfolding before him as Godzilla and Anguirus were continuing to lay siege to the facility, the explosion a result of Alpha Kaiju rupturing a fuel tank simply by walking through it.

An hour ago, Godzilla had made landfall on Osaka, more specifically, Ifukube Harbor. Almost immediately, G.R.I.D. troops began unloading everything they had as the facility went into red alert. This was before Anguirus showed up twenty minutes later and the already hopeless situation further deteriorated as both Kaiju strode their way through the harbor like two good friends on a leisurely stroll.

Anguirus lumbered alongside Godzilla, his crystalline quills tinkling in the air like windchimes while the humans' bullets, missiles, and artillery shells either bounced off his gray-blue, armored skin or hurt him in the similar fashion a man is hurt by bee stings; painful and stinging at first, but then irritating and itchy seconds later. It had gotten so annoying, he turned his gaze towards his alpha and issued a honk, asking his saurian leader if they could retaliate. Godzilla glanced back at the armored reptile and then back towards the humans as another missile detonated harmlessly against his brownish-gray, crocodilian skin. Usually, the King of the Monsters would have fired back at the humans. The only reason he destroyed the building in the Marianas Trench was because he didn't like anyone in his territory, let alone the hairless monkeys that awoke him with their bombs and tried to kill him multiple times. But, he had somewhere he needed to be and, frankly, fighting humans was the last thing on his mind right now.

That was, until a missile struck the left side of his face. Okay. That settled it. The humans wanted a battle? They were about to get one. Because, apparently, during his absence, the humans forgot one simple rule: pick a fight with the King, there will be a slaughter. And, frankly, Godzilla could stay patient with them for only _so_ long. Now, it was time he reminded them why he was the most feared among the Kaiju.

An angry roar from Godzilla and Anguirus was all Ryota needed to know both Kaiju were now going on the offensive. Godzilla turned his colossal head toward the gun-tower currently unloading every bullet and missile cartridge it had at him. His misshapen, maple leaf-shaped dorsal fins began to glow and crackle and wisps of pale, blue mist began to emit from in-between his jaws. He snapped his head forward and a lance of atomic plasma speared through the tower, causing it to bubble before erupting into an explosion of molten metal and debris. He then turned his attention to the troops firing at him and shot forth another blast, disintegrating them instantly. While this was going on, Anguirus barreled through, mowing down any unfortunate soldier to get in his path while his crystal-tipped, clubbed tail shattered guntowers like a morning star.

In addition to his Atomic Breath, Godzilla simply tore through the facility, his claws making short work of the guntowers while soldiers were crushed underfoot. A guntower behind him began unloading everything it had before his tail struck it down in a single swing. Just then, missiles struck his side.

Missiles, from above.

Godzilla turned his head skyward with a growl and noticed winged, metal objects up ahead which circled around and struck at him with more missiles. Human flying machines. Some of them were sleek with wings trying to resemble birds while others were triangular which split apart into fifteen smaller triangles. All of them nuisances either way. The King of the Monsters spread out his four-clawed hands and let loose a roar of challenge.

Takashi "Tengu" Kanno sent his F-66 Peregine into a nose dive as he and his squadron flew toward the colossal form of Godzilla. To his left, the triangular Hivemind jets broke off their attack drones, increasing the squadron's numbers exponentially.

"**Radiation levels rising,**" warned his wingman, Jiro "Hotshot" Kendo.

Sure enough, Takashi noticed the eerie, crackling blue glow of Godzilla's dorsal fins, a sign he was about to unleash nuclear oblivion on his attackers.

"**Atomic Breath,**" Takashi shouted over his radio. "**Evasive manuevers**!"

The squadron scattered as Godzilla's primary weapon lanced into the sky. However, one Hivemind pilot was not fast enough to evade. He only had a few seconds to scream in shock before he and his ship vanished in a fiery cloud. With the command cockpit destroyed, the drones deactivated and fell from the sky like metallic leaves, some of them even crashing into the harbor and exploding on impact. The rest of the squadron circled around and unleashed a flurry of missiles at the King of the Monsters, his saurian body obscured by smoke and fire for a brief moment before his lupine head emerged from the cloud. His eyes were narrowed and glowing like fire while his lips were curled into a fanged snarl. Just then, the Peregines unloaded their Maser guns at the monster, pellets of energy pelting against Godzilla's skin like raindrops. As the Peregines and Hiveminds circled around, this time a little bit close for comfort, Takashi could see Godzilla lunge toward his jet, fangs bared and mouth wide open. He just barely avoided getting bitten in half before ascending, the sound of Godzilla's jaws closing behind him louder than a train crash. As he zoomed away from the King of the Monsters, he noticed Godzilla lift his head into the air and release a strange roar.

_What is he doing_? Takashi thought. However, he was just about to receive his answer as the overcast clouds took on a vibrant, hellish, red tinge. It was almost as though the sky itself had been set on fire. Just then, a massive, winged shadow appeared above his cockpit, blocking out the sun. By the time he heard a cackling shriek, it was far too late to evade as the newcomer's jagged, obsidian-black beak rushed towards him.

The rest of Takashi's squadron could only watch in horror as their leader's jet was snatched up by Rodan Prime. The moment the reptavian Kaiju's beak snapped down, it was over in the blink of an eye. However, it was clear the bio-volcanic monster was in no means done as she turned her cat-like eyes toward them. With another cackle, the winged Kaiju shot forward, the fringes of her wings glowing with volcanic heat. The squadron fired their remaining missiles, only to detonate harmlessly against the Kaiju's armored, volcanic soil-enriched skin. Rodan Prime stopped herself in mid-air and clapped her wings together, creating a shockwave as well as shooting forth a rain of super-heated obsidian scales turned into flechettes. Any jet that wasn't caught in the sonic clap was torn to shreds by daggers of obsidian-enriched scales. In any case, the entire squadron was obliterated by Rodan Prime in a matter of seconds.

With his winged ally having dispatched the air forces, Godzilla turned his attention back toward the humans on the ground. The King of the Monsters let out a grunt watching as Anguirus froze the humans just by being in their vincinity while Rodan Prime circled in the skies above, ready to attack any more of the humans' flying machines. Godzilla couldn't stay here fighting humans all day, he had to be somewhere before time ran out. It was time to end this fight.

Ryota watched from the observation deck as Godzilla's dorsal fins began to glow again, but, something was off. Usually, when Godzilla was about to release his Atomic Breath, vapors of mist would emerge from his mouth and his eyes would glow a bright blue. His eyes were certainly turning blue, but no mist was coming out of his mouth. Instead, the King of the Monsters was hunching down, almost as if he were kneeling in pain as his dorsal fins began to glow brighter and brighter until their blue glow turned a phosphorous white. Not only that, but he noticed the crags in Godzilla's armored skin began to pulse with veins of blue light, giving him an almost volcanic look. Before Ryota could figure out what the Kaiju was doing, Godzilla stood back up and spread out his arms. A massive bubble-like shockwave of pure, atomic energy erupted forth and vaporized any soldier still on the ground while buildings instantly evaporated. The man's pain as the shockwave struck his building was intense but, luckily, only lasted for a millisecond, as was the case of the rest of the people caught within the Nuclear Pulse's blast radius.

Godzilla let out an exhausted huff as he stood within the crater that was once Ifukube Harbor. There was a reason he reserved that attack as one of his last resorts. Fortunately, it was the least draining. Anguirus then strode to his side, followed by Rodan Prime who forcefully landed, her wings supporting her massive body. Godzilla snorted before walking through the scorched ruins to the coast. Anguirus and Rodan Prime began to follow him before he whipped around and let out a sharp bark, causing both his betas to freeze in their tracks. After making sure they would stay put, Godzilla slipped into the bay and swam out to sea, his jagged dorsal fins disappearing beneath the surface with nary a ripple.

Anguirus and Rodan Prime looked at each other. Both shared an equally quizzical expression on their faces. Why didn't Godzilla want them to follow him? What could be so important that he had to go alone?

Godzilla dove deeper and deeper into the ocean. His body undulated like a crocodile as he swam seamlessly through the depths. He had tracked down the energy of one of the humans' swimming machines. It was faint so he needed to track it precisely, which meant stepping on land. Which also meant a confrontation with humans. Humanity may have improved on hiding their energy while he was away, but it wasn't good enough. He had to follow them. He had to find where they were going... before time ran out.


	12. Horrors Below

Horrors Below

**Unknown**

Koji stared out the observatorion deck toward what lay before them. Stretched out for miles was an intimidating landscape. Geothermal vents the size of skyscrapers spewed out clouds of volcanic gas in fiery belches as an eerie, fiery red glow permeated all around them. It was almost as if the King Passage had swallowed them up and spat them out into an underwater hellscape.

_Really makes you wonder why only Godzilla would take this route. _Koji thought to himself. _Only he could survive around here. _

"Hey," Tsubaki called out, joining her brother. "Ricky and I were about to hit the Mess Hall for some grub. You wanna join?"

Koji just waved her off without looking at her.

"Yeah, sure, be there in a minute. Don't wait up for me."

Tsubaki frowned and followed her twin's gaze outside.

"Yeah," she told him. "I can see that. It's not exactly an undersea paradise, Bro. Nobody ever said the path to Malika was gonna be a pretty one. Besides, you've been looking at this since we came out of the King's Passage. You have to be at least hungry."

Koji shook his head. "It's not that, Tsu," he told her. "It's just, well, ummm..."

Tsubaki rose an eyebrow to her brother.

"Ummm, what?"

Koji sighed. "Never mind. Just head down to the Mess Hall and make sure Shō made some fresh food and not just leftovers from breakfast. I can still feel today's bacon sitting in my gut."

Tsubaki shrugged and put her arms in the air.

"Whatever you say, Koji," she told him as she walked off before she popped her head from behind the corner. "Oh, and Shō's cooking isn't _that_ bad!"

Koji rolled his eyes before turning his gaze toward the underwater burning fields before his stomach growled. Maybe a quick bite to eat would take his mind off things. However, as he followed his sister, he couldn't help but feel this sense of unease. It was almost as if something was out there, watching and waiting.

It had been more than a thousand years since he was placed here. His job was quite simple, really: keep anyone from leaving and anyone from entering. He had done his task without fail. He even had pieces of metal and bone still wedged in his fangs while the scraps went to the Barem. He stayed here, eating, not because he had to, but because his creators made it so he _chose_ to. His name was Dagahra, and he was an obstacle all had to face should they ever make it through the Path of the King. Right now, he slept, waiting for the next fools to try and seek the entrance to Malika.

"What is Shō's obsession with giving me more meat than necessary?" Ricky asked as he tried to forage his Gyudon bowl for any sign of rice that wasn't buried in strips of beef with his fork.

Tsubaki shrugged, "Dunno. Maybe it has something to do with your body?"

Ricky cast her a questioning look.

"And your point is...?"

Tsubaki shrugged as she picked up a strip of meat and a small wad of rice with her chopsticks.

"No offense, Ricky," she told him. "But I think he's just doing this to put meat on your bones."

Ricky sighed at the Japanese mechanic's words.

"Look," he replied. "What my body lacks in muscle, it makes up for in intelligence. And having more meat than what's usually required isn't gonna exactly turn me into the next Fabio."

Just then, Koji walked up to the bench and took a seat, his tray also carrying a Gyudon bowl and a salad.

"So, Ricky," he asked. "What have you been up to?"

Ricky pulled back his sleeve to reveal what looked like a suped-up wristwatch crossed with a shrunken computer screen.

"Well, Captain Tanaka told me to use the snake drones to scout out the area which I'm controlling through this," he explained. "If you guys want to, we can watch the video feed ourselves."

Tsubaki swallowed her next bite before nodding, "Sure, it'll at least spruce lunchtime up a bit."

Koji shrugged, "Got nothing better to do. Go ahead."

Ricky nodded and tapped his screen and a holographic sphere manifested from the watch composed of video feeds. On one, Koji noticed a snake drone slithering through the water. It was surprising for him to see how fluid and life-like its movements were as though it were an actual sea snake. Its eyes were glowing bright orange as it slithered through the hellish depths. Not only that, but there were ships from every era... or at least what was _left_ of them.

Koji then noticed there were brightly colored objects plastered all around the geothermal vents. Objects that seemed to be moving. Wait.

"Are those starfish?"

Ricky squinted as he looked at the objects. He directed one of his drones to get a closer look at the organisms and it was there, the trio and even a few of the cafeteria patrons who were catching a glimpse of the footage were greeted with the sight of what definitely appeared to be starfish. But, they weren't any starfish ever recorded. These specimens were blood red in coloration with what appeared to be armor-plating running along their six legs. Their tube feet were sickly yellow and feathery in appearance while what looked like disgusting, yellow pustules on top of their bodies. Judging from the footage, these animals had to be no bigger than forty to fifty centimeters in size.

Ricky brought in one of his drones to get a closer look at the creatures when, suddenly, one of the starfish leaped off one of the vents it was resting on with surprising speed and engulfed the drone. Instantly, the feed was cut off. The attack was so sudden it caused everyone to jump.

_Okay_. Koji thought. _We've not only discovered what lies beyond the King Passage, but at the same time we've discovered a new hyper-aggressive_ _species of starfish._ _And the best part? We haven't been here longer than thirty minutes_.

Tsubaki gently patted Ricky's back.

"Sorry about your drone, Ricky," she told him.

Ricky gave her a smile.

"It's okay," he replied. "At least it went down doing what it was meant to- hey, what a minute."

Koji and Tsubaki looked over at their inventive acquaintance.

"What's wrong?" Tsubaki asked.

"There's a landmass with a bunch of those starfish," Ricky replied.

"And that's weird because-?"

"I swear I saw it move."

"It was probably a tectonic shift," Koji told him.

"I don't think so, Koji," Ricky said. "It moved as if it were _alive_."

The sound of the Barem's dissolving acid against metal was the first thing to enter the slumbering Dagahra's ears. The aquatic leviathan opened his left eye ever so slightly and noticed a large object floating above the geothermal vents. Finally, something for him to sink his teeth into after all these years of sleeping. Using the pincers on his manta ray-like wings and his clawed forelimbs to push his body forward, Dagahra began to stalk the intruding vessel, waiting for just the right moment to strike.

"Fascinating," Serizawa commented as she and Tanaka overlooked the footage of the starfish fed to them by the young Mr. Hanbridge's drones. "It would seem the wildlife down here has evolved to accustom themselves to this harsh environment."

"You got all that from these starfish?" Tanaka asked.

"Captain," Asuka replied. "These starfish are not like any specimen ever recorded. For all we know, Malika might be full of fauna the world has never even heard of before. Plus, it would explain how Godzilla was able to metabolize radiation even long before nuclear power was brought onto the table."

Tanaka chuckled at the forty-year-old's youthful enthusiasm.

"Well, let's not get too excited, Asuka."

"Um, Captain?"

Tanaka turned to the radar operator.

"Yes?"

"I think I picked up something on radar."

"You'think' you picked up something?"

"It was there for a second then it just disappeared like it wasn't there," the radar operator explained before pointing at his radar screen. "Look! There it is again! And there it's _gone_ again."

Tanaka frowned at the young man.

"Son, this had better not be a joke," he told the man.

The radar operator gave his captain a defensive glance.

"Sir, I'm telling you, there's something out there."

Asuka frowned, "The only thing out there are a new species of starfish. For all we know the radar could be faulty."

"Doctor Serizawa, please," the man told her. "There's something out there and it's alive and it's big, otherwise the radar wouldn't have picked it up."

"Then how does it keep appearing and disappearing?"

"I think," the man realized something. "I think it might be a Kai-"

Just then, a sudden jolt rocked the _Seeker_, knocking everyone off their feet and flickering the lights before they finally turned off, leaving the mobile aquatic base dead in the water and the bridge flooded into darkness only vaguely lit by underwater volcanic embers.

"What happened?" Tanaka demanded.

"Massive impact, Captain," one of the female crewmembers replied. "Whatever it was, it stunned our power systems. Estimate of twenty seconds until it returns."

"What could have caused it?" Tanaka asked.

"It could have been a submarine eruption," Asuka suggested. "It wouldn't be surprising considering where we are."

"It wasn't an eruption, Doctor Serizawa," the radar operator told her. "The _Seeker _was designed to withstand those kinds of things. Something _collided _with us."

"Power back online in five... four... three... two... one!"

Before Tanaka could ask, the _Seeker_'s power was restored, including her floodlights... which gave him and the rest of the bridge a nice good look at the massive pair of fang-laden jaws barreling toward them.


	13. Battles in the Depths

Battles in the Depths

"Evasive maneuvers!" Tanaka shouted as the jaws rushed ever closer.

The helmsman wasted no time bringing the _Seeker _into a sharp dive just narrowly avoiding the monster's teeth, the only damage coming from a slight scraping as the jaws snapped closed. The sharp dive also nearly jolted everyone out of their seats. Lucky for them, the _Seeker_, despite her massive size was actually quite agile.

"Everyone alright?" Tanaka called out.

"We're fine, Captain," the radar operator replied. "But that thing's circling around for another attack."

"This doesn't make any sense," Asuka said, obviously trying to comprehend their current situation. "The Kaiju are supposed to be dormant. How is this one awake?"

Ryota Higurashi, Tanaka's ensign replied, "Maybe there are other Kaiju out there that not even G.R.I.D. accounted for. Maybe this one's a rogue."

_Well,_ Tanaka thought. _So much for smooth sailings. _

"Ensign Higurashi," Tanaka spoke with the same authoritative yet calm voice he used during his years in the Kaiju War. "Make the call. We're gonna show this thing we can bite back."

Ryota nodded and placed his finger on the intercoms.

"**Alert! Alert! We are under Kaiju attack! All able-bodied crewmembers report to their battle stations immediately! This is not a drill! I repeat, not a drill!**"

Koji, Ricky, and Tsubaki were just now leaving the cafeteria as the crew of the _Seeker_ went into a frenzy of shouting and people rushing down every hallway.

"Wait," Ricky asked. "I might have heard this wrong, but, did he just say _Kaiju_? I thought they're supposed to be asleep!"

"Maybe this one didn't get the memo," Tsubaki replied. She then rushed down a corridor to the power room to make sure nothing was damaged while Koji headed down to the sub-fighter hangar, leaving Ricky in the middle of the chaos.

"O-kay," he told nobody in particular. "I guess, I'll just try to seek shelter."

Ryota turned to face Tanaka and saluted him.

"Maser gunners are in position and ready for orders, Captain."

Tanaka nodded and pressed the intercom before uttering two words.

"Open fire."

The bolts of energy erupting from the vessel caught Dagahra off guard. They didn't hurt him per say, just surprised him. His prey was actually fighting back. Perfect. He always wanted prey that had some fight in them. Over the thousands of years waiting in this deep sea Hell, he never received a challenge from anyone let alone this metal, human contraption. Maybe this would offer him a bit more fun. Dagahra curled his perpetually smiling lips into a fanged grin as he rushed forward, picking up speed. Just as soon as he was a mere twelve meters, he extended one of his wing pincers and clamped down while he used his claws to grip onto the hull.

The _Seeker _rocking violently and the loss of forward motion was all the crew needed to know they were in the Kaiju's grasp. One of the crewmembers screamed as the beast's red, reptilian/piscine eye glared in on them, not helped by its malicious, fanged grin as though it were savoring their horror. Tanaka, however, stood steadfast in the face of danger as he had done in his years of the Kaiju War. If not even _Godzilla _could make him flinch, no oversized fish-lizard was going to scare him either.

"Launch sub-fighters." he nonchalantly ordered.

_Okay, Koji, remember the first rule of Kaiju engagement,_ Koji mentally told himself as he entered the spherical cockpit of the Piranha sub-fighter along with the other hundred pilots, Don't_ panic. Just remember your training and try not to be too much of an obvious target_.

Koji placed his hands on the controls and watched as his hatch began to fill up with water to ensure his aquatic attack vehicle's deployment was much smoother. As the water level reached his cockpit midway, another thought entered his mind.

_God, I'm glad I'm not hydrophobic._

Just then, upon receiving the green light, Koji was pushed back into his seat as his vehicle was launched into the briny deep. Once outside, Koji and the rest of the Piranha armada got a good glimpse at the monster currently in hold of the _Seeker_.

To put it in a nutshell, the Kaiju looked to be one part mosasaur, one part manta ray, one part crab, one part moray eel, and all parts nasty. The creature's silhouette vaguely resembled a dragon and it was covered in bluish-green scales with a sickly yellow underbelly. Its long tail ended in a fin that looked like it belonged on a fish but was positioned in a way that resembled a whale fluke. The beast's hindlimbs were merely flippers while its front legs sported ten claws, five on each foot, that were curved like meat hooks. Its 'wings' resembled manta ray fins but were positioned in a way similar to a bat's wing and tipped with crustacean pincers that it used to grip the _Seeker_. Its head was the most frightening thing about it; vaguely resembling a moray eel's head crossed with a Komodo dragon's with its jaw curved in a way it was sporting a permanent grin. The kind of grin a serial killer would have on his or face as he or she carved up helpless victims The Kaiju was only half the size of the vessel but it still had the strength to hold her in place.

Over his radio, Koji heard the rest of the pilots' chatter.

"**Geez, would you look at the size of that thing?**"

"**Goddamn! That is one **_**ugly**_** Kaiju!" **

"**They're expecting us to fight **_**that**_** thing!?" **

Koji didn't exactly blame them. The only Kaiju action he and the rest of the pilots experienced was in simulation runs. However, those were simulations of Kaiju humans had encountered during the war, not an actual, living, breathing one. Not to mention, this one was not part of their records. They were attacking something they knew next to nothing about.

"**Alright**," Koji radioed in the rest of the armada. "**All Piranhas on me. Let's blow this seafood combo from Hell to Kingdom Come.**"

Dagahra tipped the vessel to the left and right, watching the ant-sized monkeys scramble to and fro, back and forth. It was so delightful imagining their screams of panic. A pity he was about to make them join the other souls who either wandered into his killing grounds or were sucked into the mouth of the Hall of the King. However, he felt several pops on his body. He turned his head to see hundreds of smaller human vessels heading straight toward him. He _could_ ignore them, after all they were less of a threat than the machine he currently had in his grasp (not that it was a threat _anyway_), but, then again, the thought of more victims to kill was more than promising. After all, when one spends thousand of years alive waiting for the next victim to stumble by with only the Barem as company, things did tend to get rather... _boring_. Besides, he was having more fun than in the past, when all it took to destroy an intruding vessel was either one slice of his claws, crushing it in his pincers, or blowing it to bits with his Irashuban Beam. Why not just take the time to savor it? Letting go of the vessel, Dagahra rushed to answer the challenge issued to him.

"We're loose!" Tanaka called out. "I want all weapons hot and ready to return fire!"

"Aye, Captain!"

On the outside, the gunners took their positions on the Maser and torpedo cannons and aimed them at the Kaiju, unloading everything they had in hopes of offering additional fire to the Piranha pilots.

"**We got its attention,**" Koji radioed. "**Piranhas on me so we can circle around for another attack run**."

The Piranhas, true to their namesake, were designed to pack a wallop in large armadas; the larger numbers, the more pain they inflicted. As a single unit, the sub-fighters unleashed a volley of torpedos at the Kaiju, detonating against its hide all the while the _Seeker _gave them additional fire. The Kaiju itself let out a roar which was barely muffled by the water before it opened its mouth halfway-

And a bolt of purple energy shot out of its jaws, obliterating quite at least sixty of the Piranhas. There wasn't even so much as a series of explosions, they were just engulfed in the beam and it was like they weren't even there.

"**What the Hell was that!?**"

"**Oh my God! That thing just took out Nigel**!"

"**This thing can shoot back!?**"

"_**Look out**_!"

The beast then lashed out one of its pincered wings and crushed another Piranha. It then lunged forward with its jaws open, revealing quadruple rows of shark-like teeth, to bite down and destroy three Piranhas in a row. Just then, the Kaiju began spinning around with red dots falling off of it. It wasn't clear what they were until...

"**Something's on me!**" shouted one of the female pilots, Mara."**Oh, God, THEY'RE MELTING THROUGH MY SHIP!" **

Koji looked over to see Mara's Piranha covered in red, organic objects that, true enough, were corroding her ship's armor; the starfish. Once they ate through the propulsion, the Piranha somersaulted into one of the thermal vents and exploded. He didn't even hear her scream before impact.

"**Piranhas,**" Tanaka's voice crackled on his radio. "**What's going on out there**?"

"**It's those starfish, sir!" **Koji replied. "**The Kaiju's covered with them! I think they have a symbiotic relationship**!"

With the amount of people the Kaiju was destroying, this was no longer a battle, this was a _slaughter_. Just then, there was a blip on his radar. Something _else_ was down here and it was alive, _big_, and moving fast.

Another _Kaiju? _Koji thought. The blip on the radar got faster and faster until it was ultimately right on top of him, in addition to the other Kaiju which had turned around and seemed to take on a shocked appearance as the second beast entered his view and he got a good glimpse of it. And what he saw was not only recognizable, it made his heart stop and his stomach flip three times over as he noted its features; Brown-gray skin resembling crocodile skin or keloid scars, a roughly humanoid build, a sinuous, segmented tail, a lupine head, glowing, red/orange eyes, and three rows of dorsal plates resembling warped, bleach-white maple leaves with black centers.

"Godzilla."

With a roar that too was barely muffled by the watery depths, Godzilla swam vigorously toward the other Kaiju, his four-clawed hands splayed out. The other Kaiju, initially startled by this, gained a bit of bravery as it charged toward Godzilla as well. Upon colliding, the impact was akin to an underwater detonation. Godzilla was the more powerful among the two and he pushed the other Kaiju back through momentum alone as the other monster dug its claws and teeth into his shoulder.

The crew of the _Seeker _and the Piranhas watched as the two leviathans disappeared behind a cloud of geothermal smoke, only to barely make out their dueling silhouettes.

_That ought to keep the two of them busy_. Tanaka thought. However, he knew they wouldn't be busy for long. Especially since Godzilla had entered the fray. They needed to find a passage now.

"Does anyone see anything?" he asked. "Some kind of opening? Anything?"

"**Captain,**" Mr. Hanbridge's voice came on the intercom "**One of my drones found an underwater plateau with what looks like a crevasse in its side close to us. I'm sending the coordinates now**."

Tanaka was then greeted by a holographic map with a blinking, yellow dot designating the crevasse Hanbridge was talking about.

"Coordinates received," Tanaka announced. "_Seeker_ and all remaining Piranhas converge on this location."

"**Roger that, Captain,**" Koji replied as he and the forty remaining sub-fighters regrouped and followed the _Seeker_. "**But what about Godzilla**?"

"**With any luck, they'll probably kill each other**."

As much as anyone would hope that to happen, Koji knew that was still doubtful. If something like the Oxygen Destroyer couldn't kill Godzilla back in 1954, dying in battle sure as Hell wasn't going to happen.

Dagahra clung to his enemy, his teeth breaking the beast's veins and causing blood to leak into the depths while his pincers snapped at it. His opponent, however, didn't seem to notice or care. Just what was this beast anyway?

Godzilla snarled as the abomination's fangs sank into his hide. With a growl, he reached over his left hand and sank his claws into the monster's flesh. Then, he began to slide them down, spilling ichor into the depths. The monster illicited a roar of agony as its hold loosened.

Pain. It was such a strange phenomenon to Dagahra. He had never experienced such a sensation. It felt like fires were blazing deep beneath his hide all the while his veins and nerves screamed out, threatening to break loose. He didn't like it. He had to kill this beast before it inflicted pain to him again. With a snarl, he swing out his left wing and smacked the beast onto the ocean floor. As it tried to regain its footing, Dagahra rushed at it and pinned it to the floor.

Godzilla snarled as he tried his best to keep the abomination's jaws away from him, from the corner of his eye, he noticed the human vessels enter the passage way to Malika. Then, he noticed a vent spewing out volcanic heat as an idea entered his mind. Reaching out, Godzilla grabbed the right side of abomination's face and started to drag it toward the vent. Once the monster realized what he was doing, it began to squirm, no doubt knowing what he was about to do. However, Godzilla's grip was far greater than its desperation as he got it closer and closer to the vent only to plant the left side of the beast's face right onto it. The sound of sizzling flesh was briefly heard before the abomination released its hold on Godzilla with a scream of agony and swam away. However, it didn't get far as Godzilla managed to grab its tail and throw it onto the ocean floor.

The left side of his face burned to a crisp and nearly blind, Dagahra's body was screaming in pain. How was this possible? How was he losing the upper-hand? That was until he remembered a word his creators kept using as they were embedding his genetic programming along with images of this very same monster. It was one name repeated over and over again.

"_Xanlanth_."

Narrowing his one good eye, Dagahra hoisted his body up with his wing pincers and began to shake the Barem off his body which clung to Xanlanth's body. Xanlanth let out a roar as the starfish began to burn away at his flesh. Taking advantage of this, Dagahra loosed his Irashuban Beam toward the monster, exploding on impact and engulfing him in smoke and dust. For a while, the water was still. Maybe that did Xanlanth in. However, just as Dagahra was savoring his victory, the dark depths began to take on an eerie blue glow. Suddenly, Xanlanth emerged from the cloud, his eyes and dorsal spikes glowing the same blue color. It must have been as hot as the vents' emissions because the Barem were burnt to a crisp. Before he had time to react, a pillar of blue light and steam erupted from the monster's open jaws and struck Dagahra in the chest and sent him somersaulting onto his back. As he groaned from the pain, Xanlanth swam up and planted his foot onto his charred chest.

Godzilla narrowed his eyes at the beast. He noticed one of its pincered wings rushing toward his left from the corner of his eye and grabbed it without turning his head. Then, with a sharp angling of his wrist, he bent the wing with a bony _snap_. The monster's screams filled the depths.

The pain Dagahra was feeling was beyond excrutiating. He then noticed the blue glow had returned, this time slightly brighter than before. By the time Xanlanth had lowered his head and began to open his jaws, Dagahra had realized he failed.

With a stronger blast of his Atomic Breath, Godzilla stirred up a massive cloud of dust which hung in the water for a moment. He then looked down and saw the abomination's remaining eye had rolled into the back of its skull. He took his foot off the beast and let out a bubble-laden sigh. He then turned his attention to the entrance to Malika. The humans were gone, obviously having entered. The humans were edging closer to Malika.


End file.
